Formian Nest
Population: 5,000 (90 % Formian Queen, 80 Myrmarchs, 100 Taskmasters, 400 Warriors, 4000 Workers, 10% Slaves/Thrall/Workers of Other Races) Government: Monarchy Religions: None Imports: None Exports: None Alignment: Lawful Neutral Life and Society Formian society is strictly regulated into four castes- Workers, Warriors, Taskmasters, and Myrmarchs. Each Formian is born into its station, with no opportunity to progress whatsoever. Individual Formians do not seek to progress their individual station, however. Formian Workers are the lowest-ranking and most common Formians. They exist only to serve, performing all necessary, lowly tasks that the hive needs. While they cannot speak, they can convey simple concepts by body movements. Through the hive mind, however, they can communicate just fine- although their intelligence still limits the concepts that they can grasp. Warrior Formians exist only to fight. Just slightly above workers, Warrior Formians can communicate more efficiently through the hive mind, but only communicate battle plans and make reports to their commanders. They cannot speak otherwise. Taskmaster Formians resemble Warriors Formians with no mandibles- no apparent mouth at all, in fact. These Formians communicate only telepathically and derive sustenance from the mental energies of those they dominate. A Taskmaster Formians’s duty is to gather and control non-Formians for integration into the hive. Put simply, Taskmaster Formians enslave other creatures. They do not enjoy controlling other creatures, but believe it the only efficient way to spread the hive to all places, a desirable end for all rational creatures. If a Taskmaster Formian can manage to “conscript” a laborer without using its domination abilities, it will. Formian Myrmarchs are the elite of Formian society. Much more than those beneath them, these creatures are individuals with goals, desires, and creative thought. Very rarely do these ever conflict with the wishes of the queen, though- most Myrmarchs are still very loyal to her. Myrmarchs are commanders in Formian armies and leaders in Formian communities. They are the hands of the queen, carrying out her direct orders and making sure everything foes exactly as she desires. Myrmarchs also have a secondary role: Stamping out chaos wherever and whenever they can. Those who foment disorder and particularly creatures that revere or exemplify it are the hated foes of Myrmarchs. The Formian Queen sits at the center of the hive, her bloated form never moving from the royal chamber. She is served and guarded twenty of the most loyal Myrmarchs. The Formian Queen has atrophied legs and cannot move. With her telepathic abilities, though, she can send instruction to and get reports from any Formian within her range. Major Organizations Cult of the Formian Queen Major Geographical Features The Formian Nest is a roughly spheroid chamber made of a hardened rock-like substance secreted by Formian Workers nestled in the southeast Underdark. The inside of the nest is laid out in precise and exact geometric and isometric patterns and shapes, a testament to the extreme concepts of law and order that Formians naturally adhere to. In the center of the Formian Nest lies the Queen’s Chambers, where the immobile Formian Queen lives. Living closest to the Queen are the Myrmarchs, and then the Tasksmasters, then Workers, and finally, Warriors. Slaves and workers charmed by Formian Taskmasters live in camps and pits that surround the Formian Nest. Very few non-Formians are allowed into the Formian Nest proper. Important Sites The Queen’s Chambers The Slave Pits Nursery Chamber Regional History The Formians came to Okarth in 1093, sent by the Scion Queen Mother of Mechanus to colonize the world. The Formians quickly established a hold in the area of the Underdark that they came to, and within a few months, had the Formian Nest fully built, protected, and operational. The Formians protect their nest and their territory fiercely, protecting their queen, but do not actively go into other locales in the Underdark. As such, they are completely self-sufficient, and rarely factor into the politics of the Underdark. In fact, many bastions in the Underdark and the surface world are completely unaware of the existence of the Formian Nest. In 1145, after the House of Lore was sacked, many Goblinoids were taken as thrall by the Formians after passing too close to the Formian Nest. This event also spawned the creation of the Cult of the Formian Queen, by a crazed scholar who had survived the traumatic event.